Haunted
by MWolfe13
Summary: Haunted houses are haunted, right?


**Written for the Something Wicked 2019 Fic Exchange on MMF. This is for xxDustNight88**

**Enjoy!**

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Sam Wilson was on top of the world.

Why wouldn't he be? The world wasn't trying to end, for the time being, thus letting him get away with taking two weeks of vacation. It was unheard of seeing as the Avengers were _always _on call. Sam had taken the time and flown straight to England, landing in the arms of his beautiful girlfriend.

Sam had met the lovely Daphne Greengrass during a liaison trip with the woman's people. And he was thankful every day that Cap had decided he was the best person to send. She was beautiful, charming, perfect in every way Sam could think of. She matched him sarcastic comment for sarcastic comment. Really, the Witch was everything Sam loved in a woman.

And right now, she was rolling her eyes and scoffing at their destination.

"Honestly, Sam?" Daphne observed the scene before her with unhidden disdain. "A haunted tour? You do know there is probably no real ghosts in there, right?"

Sam gave her a quick grin, turning off the rental car. "Come on, baby. Let's just mingle with normal people and have some fun."

Daphne eyed the Muggles as Sam made it around the car in record time and helped her out. "Who are you calling normal?" But she took his hand anyway, and let him lead her to the gathering of tourists that were waiting for their guide before entering the abandoned Manor home turned attraction.

The man leading them today was a young man, barely an adult. His face showed the proper amount of enthusiasm as he introduced himself and explained the rules of the Manor. Sam mumbled to his girlfriend after every rule, Daphne struggling to contain her giggles. It was a game they played when they were in public. He would try and get her to laugh at the most inappropriate of times, usually succeeding and causing people to stare at her. Daphne would then get her revenge by casting some small hex that would embarrass him at opportune moments. The war was well known among their friends.

Astoria would often tell her sister she could stop the war by refusing to play, but where was the fun in that?

Soon after, they were able to enter the house. The story went that the family who owned this property used to hold many parties and festivities before their untimely demise. Daphne could see it; the spacious receiving room elegantly furnished with a tea cart at the ready, the ballroom where guests would mingle and dance. There were other areas of course, all properly preserved and marked with little plaques and small descriptions.

It was when they were in the Master's bedchamber that things really became interesting.

Sam and Daphne had started to entertain themselves by impersonating the long dead members of the household. A few of the children were entertained by their antics, letting their parents look around and take pictures unbothered. Daphne was about to dramatically swoon into Sam's arms when there was a great bang, the door to the bedroom slamming shut and trapping them all in there. Daphne jumped at the loud sound mid-swoon, tipping back as she tried to see what was going on. Sam caught her in his arms, strong hands clutching the delicate fingers that had started reaching for her front pocket on reflex.

"What was that?" she asked lowly.

"Good question," Sam answered. His eyes sought the guide for answers.

The man was already making his way from the farthest point in the room to the door, a look of confusion on his face. He turned the doorknob, expecting it to give way, but there was no click. He tried again, rattling the doorknob uselessly. He turned to the crowd, giving them a reassuring smile even as his eyes were panicked. "I'll be just a moment, ladies and gentlemen. I just need to make a call."

Daphne pursed her lips. "I can just-"

"Don't even think about it," Sam told her. "This is all a part of their tour. Lock the clueless tourists in the room, and scare them with ghosts." His words were loud enough for those around him to hear, some of them chuckling in relief. The crowd calmed considerably, talking with each other about the possibilities and teasing those that had reacted. No one was watching the guide anymore, save for Sam and Daphne. The young man kept pressing buttons on his phone, staring at it incredulously every few seconds.

A surprising chill swept through the room, silencing everyone at once. Then the curtains moved with lightning speed, covering the windows and blocking most of the natural sunlight that usually filtered through the room.

All at once, people began muttering loudly. Parents tried to calm frightened children while keeping up the appearance they weren't scared themselves. Others started making jokes. Daphne turned her head to look at Sam, one eyebrow raised. He rolled his eyes. "Fine," he muttered. "Go do your witchy thing."

Daphne snorted at his term for her magic, but stepped out of his arms and made for the door. She could feel him behind her, keeping close. She was glad for the extra cover, not wanting to reveal her wand to all these Muggles and have to deal with it later. She pulled out her wand with no flourish when they were at the door. Sam positioned himself, so that others would think they were trying the door. She aimed at the doorknob, whispering, "Alohomora."

Nothing happened.

Daphne frowned and tried again, pushing a little more magic into the cast. Again, the door remained locked and in place. After a third failed attempt, she looked up at Sam, a frown on her face. "My magic isn't working."

He lifted a brow. "At all?"

Daphne bit her lip. What could she cast that wouldn't be noticeable to the Muggles? She couldn't think of anything, so she shrugged with an apologetic look on her face.

Something shattered, and someone screamed.

Sam and Daphne startled, whirling to face the direction the sound had come from. One of the tourists had knocked down a vase. The guide looked up from his phone, horror on his face. He rushed over, but the lady in question was shaking her head and babbling. "It wasn't me! I swear, I only just came near it. It just flew off the table!"

The voices in the room were getting louder. Sam looked around with a grimace. They were going to have to get this door open soon. The mood of the group would soon become hysteria, and hysterical civilians in a trapped space was never good. He murmured as much to Daphne.

Her eyes lit up. "Of course. There's another way out."

Sam searched the room in surprise, thinking there was another door, but Daphne was already walking through the crowd towards a grouping of bookcases. The three were spaced apart, leaving room between each. Daphne went to the first space and knocked around before moving to the next. She was on the third when she heard what she wanted, tossing Sam a delighted grin. "In old houses such as these, there are _always _secret passageways."

It took her a few minutes, but then she was pushing down on an indent in the wall. The wall slid open, revealing a dirty tunnel. She gave Sam a triumphant look. Sam chuckled, ducking his head to kiss her briefly before turning to the panicked group. "Look! There's another exit."

The guide took control back rather quickly after that, making everyone believe this had been part of the tour all along. The mood was bright again, relieved, a few disgruntled. Daphne and Sam stayed at the back, making sure to follow when they were the last. "This will lead to the servants corridor," she commented. "It was how they used to come and go unseen during the running of the household."

Sam wrapped an arm around his girl. "Sure does help that you grew up in a place like this."

Daphne laughed, "Oh believe me. My family home is ten times larger than this." She gave him a flirty look. "Maybe we can explore the passages there."

"Maybe," Sam allowed. "Though it's weird your magic didn't work on the door. Why do you think that is?"

A thoughtful look came over her face. "I have an idea, but we'll have to come back after everyone has left."

Sam's curiosity was piqued, but he held it in while they were with the rest of the group. The tour ended in the servant's wing, the guide bidding everyone goodbye with a shaken smile. They waited in the car until the car was empty of cars. Their tour guide came around the back, not even glancing their way as he whistled a cheery tune. "Guy sure recovers fast," he mused.

Daphne shrugged. "Of course he did. That was part of the tour."

Sam eyed her, face set in disbelief. "Okay, genius. How do you figure that?"

"It's easy, my easily fooled boyfriend. I noticed when we first entered the room that some of the pieces were fake. The history of this family suggests they had no need for fake anything, so they must be part of the tour."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Only you would notice something like that. The door and curtains?"

"Control devices. I didn't see them, but I was watching the tour guide and he wasn't actually trying to contact anyone. He must have been controlling things from his phone."

"Alright," he conceded. "But you can't tell me the secret tunnel was planned. That thing hadn't been used in years!"

Daphne grinned at him. "Sure I can. Our guide sure knew where to go even though the servant's tunnels could span in multiple directions to move around the house efficiently. Then there was the fact that there was not a single spider. I would know. I hate them and tend to notice them right away."

Sam threw up his hands. "Your magic. How do you explain that?"

Daphne lost her grin. "Follow me."

She held his hand as she pulled him to the entrance of the house. Dropping to her knees, she brushed at some markings in the corner, shivering when her magic pulled back inside her. Sam peered at it, circling Daphne in his arms and making her lean into him. "What is that?"

"It's a sigil," Daphne explained. "The Statute of Secrecy was created after a massive loss of life for my kind. We were hunted, feared by many. One of the things that aren't in the history books was that some Witches and Wizards used their magic to create protections and traps for Muggles to use against us. This is one of them. If we look, there will be the same carving in multiple corners of the manor. Any magic performed inside the house would be nulled and sucked away to power the sigil." She frowned. "I noticed the pull when I cast the unlocking spell. My magic was uneasy. When we went outside through the servant's entrance, I looked around and saw one."

Sam shook his head. "Why would they want to help the people who hunted their own people?"

Daphne shrugged. "Who knows the motivations of such men." Then she surprised him with a quick kiss on the cheek. "You always take me to such interesting places. I can't wait to tell everyone we were trapped in a no-magic zone."

Sam groaned. "Don't do that. Your sister will give me a hard time, and your parents will glare at me to death."

She chuckled, "Oh, they'll be properly horrified. That's the best part."

"Minx," Sam murmured as he captured her lips in a heated kiss.


End file.
